If you want to avoid feeling lonely, don’t move to Washington, DC.

For the second year in a row, the nation’s capital was named the loneliest city in America, according to a recent report from the business resource site Chamber of Commerce. Nearly half of the households in the city are made up of just one person, according to the report.

“You have congressional aides and those working in the federal government [who] may be spending their time working in DC during the week and then spending their weekends going back home,” says Collin Czarnecki, who conducted research for the report.

Chamber of Commerce analyzed more than 170 cities with at least 150,000 residents using U.S. Census Bureau data to figure out where people were living alone. Several cities where adequate data was not available were excluded from the report.

The loneliest city for men was St. Louis, while Alexandria, VA—about 8 miles south of Washington, DC—was the loneliest for women.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are living alone. Across the country, more than 37 million people live by themselves, representing nearly a third, or 29%, of all households, according to the report. (Households are made up of all the people living together in a housing unit, including families, extended families, couples, and roommates.)

“There is a good chance you know someone who lives alone, especially after the pandemic,” says Czarnecki.

There are also health risks associated with being solo.

“It can be linked to poor mental health associated with depression and anxiety,” he adds.

The 10 loneliest cities in America:

1. Washington, DC
2. Birmingham, AL
3. St. Louis, MO
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Cleveland, OH
6. Pittsburgh, PA
7. Cincinnati, OH
8. Alexandria, VA
9. Minneapolis, MN
10. Richmond, VA

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